The present invention relates to a portable inflatable infant enclosure, in particular an inflatable crib.
Different types of portable cribs and bassinets are known and available in the market place. Many of these structures however suffer from disadvantages such as being potentially unsafe and being relatively heavy, bulky, and difficult to handle even when in a folded or collapsed condition. Most of these disadvantages stem from the rigid members used to support the structure in an erect condition. Often, the rigid members are formed from heavy materials and have sharp edges which pose a hazard to a child/infant within the portable structure as well as to those assembling or handling the structure. One solution to these problems has been to provide a portable enclosure which is at least partly formed by inflatable components.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,049,728 to Lund illustrates a collapsible crib having an inflatable floor section, inflatable end sections attached to the floor section, and non-inflatable side sections. The side sections are connected to the end sections by separable fasteners at each of the four corners so as to facilitate assembly and disassembly of the crib. Each side and end section is provided with a tubular sleeve for receiving the supporting rods of a rigid frame used to maintain the desired shape for the crib. The primary deficiency of this structure is the potentially dangerous situation created by the use of separable fasteners to join the side and end sections. If a child/infant within the crib were to unfasten a fastener or if one of the fasteners was defective, an opening could be created between the sections sufficient for the child/infant to crawl through or for the child/infant to insert a limb or its head. Since the crib is suspended by the frame, such an occurrence could be extremely dangerous.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,323,147 to Van Dean illustrates an inflatable bassinet comprising two sheets of non-porous, flexible material forming a base panel and four side panels. The sheets are secured together so as to define therebetween two closed, air-retaining chambers. In addition, temporary fasteners such as zippers, snaps, buttons or ties are used to join the side and end panels at right angles to the bottom panel. Hereagain, the use of temporary fasteners creates a potentially dangerous situation. Further, the valves for inflating and deflating the bassinet are located inside the bassinet within reach of an infant. Should the infant grab one of the air valves, the bassinet could quickly deflate, again creating a dangerous situation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,430,271 to Junod-Deile describes a child's playpen having an inflatable lower tube, a non-inflatable bottom attached to the lower tube, an upper inflatable tube forming a rail, and a plurality of bars formed from a flexible material fixed to flexible tubes adapted to be fastened to the upper and lower inflatable tubes forming the sides of the playpen. The most serious disadvantage associated with this construction is the danger of an infant having its head caught between the flexible side bars.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,003,098 to Fink illustrates an inflatable crib for babies. The crib has a base section in the form of an air mattress and four upstanding sidewalls attached thereto and in air communication therewith. The base portion and the sidewalls are provided with heat sealed seams which terminate inwardly of the edges of the several portions of the crib structure. An intercommunicating means for inflation of the device or deflation thereof from a common passageway is provided and equipped with an air valve. The inflatable crib is supported by a rectangular multi-section frame having a plurality of telescopic legs. A plurality of straps with snap fasteners are attached to the upper edge of the crib's sides to be fastened about the frame so that the frame holds the sidewalls of the crib in an upstanding position in the event air is accidentally or deliberately lost from the inflated structure.
The Fink design while meeting the goals of being lightweight, readily portable and inexpensively formed suffers from several serious design flaws. For example, the air valve for inflating and deflating the crib is placed on a side of the base thereby making it easy to accidentally open. Fink also uses heat sealed seams to establish the rigidity of the crib. The presence of upper and lower rolled edges on the sidewalls caused by the need to fold material to create these seams is believed to create an unstable frame condition since the legs of the supporting frame must slope or lean inwards to compensate for the difference in size from the bottom of the crib to its top.
Another serious design flaw in Fink's structure lies in the use of straps to hold the sidewalls in an upstanding position should the crib become deflated. It is unlikely that the straps and the associated snap fasteners would hold or remain in position and fastened if pressure were to be placed against one strap which, when it became undone, would cause increasing pressure on adjacent snaps resulting in their becoming undone. Also, the straps will most likely, become undone or unsnapped when the weight of a child creates a downward pressure on the walls of the crib, tending to turn the straps inward and upward in a rotating manner around the frame. This in turn would cause the snap in the sidewalls to be pulled and causes a tearing action which could pull the snap from the crib wall.
Further safety problems may arise with the Fink design if a child were standing in the crib and it deflated. Sagging of the deflated sides could cause gaps between the sides of the crib and the frame. A child within the crib could insert its hand, arm or head through the gaps. If the child then fell or became frightened, it could easily break an arm or be choked to death as the weight of its body pulled against the arm or neck stuck in such a gap.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an inflatable crib which is portable, lightweight, and easy to handle.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a crib as above which is in compliance with safety requirements.
These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent from the following description and drawings wherein like reference numerals depict like elements.